Improvement in water-wheels



Lw. SMITH ac". 1. wELu. Water-Whels.

NO`.\49,802. l Patented Aplr.ill4,1874.

' regl Mill/lui I INVENTORS.`

fw fm" By ATTORNEYS.

JOHN W. SMITH AND CALVIN J. WELD, OF BRATTLEBOROUGH, VERMONT.

IMPRoveMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,802, dated April 14, 1574; application filed February 28, 1874.

To all 'whom 'it 'may concern Beit known that we, J o'I-IN WV. SMITH and CALVIN J. WELD, of Brattleborough, in the county of Windham and State of Vermont, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Water-Viheels, and we do hereby declare that the following is a full', clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawing' 4is a representation of a plan view of our water-wheel. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view ofthe same.

This invention has relation to water-wheels of the horizontal or turbine kind; and it consists in a novel construction of the buckets, whereby the water is'caused to produce its effect on the wheel by the union of three forces, to wit, impact, pressure, and weight, as will be hereinafter explained.

The following is a description of our invention:

In the annexed drawings, A represents a ring, and B a bridge-tree, which latter is secured thereto so as to form a supporting-frame, and a step, c, for the wheel and its cap B. Therotatin g portion ofthe wheel consists of a horizontal plate, O, (to the center of which the vertical sh aft D is iixed,) an annular curb, O', and a top ange or cover, b, for the buckets. There are two kinds of buckets in this wheel, which buckets alternate with each other. The buckets, or, v

more properly speaking, blades, c, radiate from the axis of the wheel-shaft D, and are iat blades, extending from the Ilan ge, or cover b down as far as the circumference of the plate O. The buckets d consist of upper vertical portions corresponding tothe buckets c, which' portions terminate below the plate C in curved or concave tangentiallyarranged Fig. 1, so as to direct the currents ofwater through openings g', and cause these currents to strike the buckets or blades c and the npper portions of the buckets d squarely, or nearly so, thereby acting by direct impact on said blades and upper portions of the buckets d. The guides g conduct the water to the blades and buckets directly opposite to the direction which the water takes in leaving the wheelthat is to say, the water impinges against the blades in one direction, and leaves the wheel in an opposite direction. The object of this is twofold, viz., to cause the water to` act directl y upon the blades by impact and pressure, and then to act by its weight while leaving the curved portions of the buckets. The openings g are provided with adjustable gates G, which are all connected, by rods h, toa circularly-movable flanged collar, J, applied on a hub, C', of the horizontal plate C. This coi lar is held down in place by means of a packing-nut, a, through which the shaft D passes.

To adjust all the gates simultaneously I employ a hand-wheel shaft, L, carrying on its 4lo wer end a pinion, l, which engages with teeth m on the periphery of the collar J. This allows us to Vadj ust the gates and regulate the amount of water admitted to the buckets and blades while the wheel is turning.

The gates herein referred to are constructed with curved wings w, which are pivoted to the top and bottom plates ofthe cap B, as shown at w', and the curvature of these wings corresponds to that of the guides g.

What we cla-iin as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The blades c and buckets d, alternating with each other, in combination with the curb C `and its top flange b, and with the plate C, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses,

JOHN WINDSOR SMITH.

CALVIN J. WELD.

Witnesses:

MERRICK NEGUS, ISAAC A. WELD.

n'rniv'r Enron. 

